Faction Jungle Journey [There & Back Again]

[The Monster]

Sergei had been scanning as they'd been walking, noting that the surrounding area was getting quiet, a bit too quiet for his liking. Normally underbrush like this was alive with life. Sounds of various things were always signals that things were normal. And then blaster fire started screaming out from the side. Sergei responded immediately by bringing up his rifle, switching the safety off, and firing three shots in the direction of where the shooting was coming from. The surroundings however were much too thick for him to discern the enemies exact location.

At least it was until the blind man at the lead did something to Sergei with an out stretched hand.

Sergei's view of the world went white. Well whitish. Everything was exceedingly bright, and for a second Sergei thought someone had hit him with a flashbang or something similar. But he could see shapes. Shapes of things around him, and then, the outlines of people shooting at them. Sergei guessed about thirty meters for range between himself and them. And so, tightened down his rifle, and drew his L-7 pistol. Well, more of a hand cannon but for Sergei it was a pistol. And in his left hand he drew the Artisian blade that had been gifted to him. Then Sergei charged, his bullish form in armor a sight to behold as he leveled his pistol at the squad in cover.

The first man would look in terror as the massive form of Sergei just appeared through the brush, and Sergei pulled the trigger on his L-7 once. The round took his head clean off and Sergei threw his sword through the second closest one as a spear, drawing his Big Iron hand cannon with his free hand once again as he now started shooting at the rest at point blank range. By now they'd taken cover from the mad mercenary with two large pistols and Sergei called out through his speakers once.

"Surrender now or I swear by whatever gods you worship I'll pull your throats out through your rectum,"

Tags: Gerwald Lechner Naedira Darcrath Alkor Centaris Vytal Noctura Redd Asaraa Vaashe Kyyrk

 

[Srina Talon]

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Location: Acanthus School Campus [Vylmira]
Tag: Eira Talon

The day was still going strong. The people of Vylmira seemed to be enjoying the sunlight and each other. It was a peaceful world. More temperate than Geonosis. A little more like Eshan. Mistakenly, she’d thought it would hold a certain level of appeal for Eira. White tresses drifted over her shoulder in the wake of a soft breeze. The air smelled clean. Touched with something floral, but, with a tinge of something sweeter.

The dour expression her sibling wore was telling.

Was this not something a youngling would want? Perhaps, not school, but the ability to choose how they might spend their time? Srina remained silent while the sugar glass dissolved on her tongue, pondering, the response she had been given. “It is a strange thing to eat. I can admit that the memory of having it for the first time is almost more gratifying than the thing itself.”, she mused, lightly, though she didn’t stop eating it. It was clear that she favored the blue, picking neatly, around the pink.

After a moment, she leaned back against the bench. She didn’t know how to reply. Every time she sought to do something that might make her younger sister have a better quality of life—It seemed to be the wrong move. Srina wished her to be safe. Eira, did not wish to be safe.

“If you don’t want to visit the schools Eira…We won’t. I am simply not qualified to teach you everything.”

She paused. Just, thinking. It was no secret that Srina tended to miss certain social cues. It was even less of a secret that her vocabulary was extremely limited. She tended to listen twice as much as she spoke and rarely let her guard down. It was a habit. To stay strong. To always be the unstoppable, immovable force, that no one could topple. The young Echani hadn’t even realized when her smiles stopped. When laughter ended. It was simply gone.

“If I asked what you were thinking—What are the chances you’d simply tell me?”

It was almost a rhetorical question. She didn’t exactly expect an answer. Rather, not a real one. In the spaces between breathing she tried to figure out ways to bridge the gap between them. Fighting, only got them so far. Srina always held back. Kept pieces of herself hidden. Silver eyes flickered. Perhaps, if she shared herself Eira would do the same. “…When I first came to the Confederacy…”

“I was afraid.”

It injured her, deeply, to admit fear. Everyone held some form of it. She just didn’t feel the need to obey it. Srina set the cone down on the bench between them. Suddenly, her appetite was gone.

“I didn’t know anyone. I barely knew myself. I remember…”, she trailed off, head tilting back, upturned toward the sun. “I remember that it was raining when I met Darth Metus. I blew apart his storefront on Coruscant by mistake. My abilities were growing, responding to my fear, and they lashed out wildly.”

“He took pity on a wet, unruly, street urchin. I was frozen to the bone. He gave me a place to sleep. Dry clothes. Food. He…Never asked for anything in return. Just, my name.”

 

[Eira Talon]

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Location: Acanthus School Campus [Vylmira]
Tag: Srina Talon

Eira listened.

She always listened, they were very much alike in that regard. Eira would be inclined to blame their upbringing, but that simply wasn't true. Even as the youngest female in their line, she was welcomed to have a voice. She had just never given it much merit, though Valina had.

Srina sounded very much like their beloved eldest in that moment. What she couldn't do with her body, Valina had done for Eira with words. The last time someone had asked Eira to express herself, Eshan quaked with war.

Eira swallowed hard at the reminder, struck still by Srina's shocking confession. She looked up at her, eyes wide, the disbelief that Srina had experienced that --never mind confessed it to her-- clear across her features. It was direct contrast to the narrative she believed made up her sister's departure from their home. The concept that Srina had done so while afraid, and suffering...

Eira's gaze searched her sister's face as she struggled to reconcile the admittance with the icy figure before her. Srina. Afraid. Srina. An urchin. Srina... alone. Eira didn't want that for herself. But she would have done it, if Srina hadn't agreed to take her in. There was a bit of understanding there. One she knew she had to expand on if there was any hope of not being sent away.




"...I don't want to be with strangers." Her words stuck as she struggled to find her voice. "This place is fine-- but it's why I left home."

Eira looked away and back down to her hands. Srina was right to assume this planet would hold an appeal to Eira. She hated Geneosis, she had made her distaste no secret. It was hot, and grimy, and lacked pleasing slopes in its architecture that Eshan favored. But Eira didn't care about that in the end, her goal had been to learn. A lack of beauty wasn't going to stop her from pursuing that. Relentlessly.

"I want to train. With you." Her fingers clenched, her gaze staying on them as the worlds slowly started to flow out-- like a trickle of water carving its way. "I know I got hurt at that attack, but I can do better," she swore, a hint of frustration hitting her tone. Her fist clenched tighter as she grew angry with herself, for being so weak that she got hurt at all. She had failed her training-- failed Srina-- would fail everyone if Srina didn't give her another chance to try again.

She had hard views on herself, and weighed her actions heavily. She failed to see this school tour as anything other than repercussions of her own failure. It was both a lack of understanding for her Sister's life, and her own child-like believe that the world revolved around her. Srina was absent because she did not find her to be a good enough student. Eira couldn't understand it as anything else.

Angry tears hit the corner of her eyes, this issue world-shattering for her.

"I can do better. I swear it-- Just give me chance. What do you need see from me? To blow something up? I can- I can do it too. I'll give you anything." she rattled, desperation seeping through.

What. It worked for Srina! ... Course it had been a store front. And Eira wasn't sure she could blow anything up. But dammit, she'd try. And hell, with the raw anger with herself boiling inside her chest, there was a chance she just might succeeded.

The force started to coil around her. She had every intention of following through.

 

[Vytal Noctura]

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"From the passion on display," Vytal responded to Naedira Darcrath , "I would say more."

Only a moment later the spirit among them expressed doubt at the lengths the group moved to pursue her return. This would not do. The Nightmother fixed the woman with her green eyes. "This is the Path. All that is left before us now is whether we choose to walk it, or if we will choose to embrace death. And I will tell you right now, there is not a soul present prepared to die this day."

When the enemy revealed themselves, the Nightmother did not weave a spell immediately. Instead she activated the shield unit in her armor to produce six smaller shields that were placed around the group once several had taken off to bring the fight to their adversaries. Most could defend themselves, but they needed somewhere they could fall back to if it came to that.

It also gave her time to act.

Both hands risen before her, Vytal beseched the spirits around them, "Unseen eyes of this world, make known to us our enemy, that we may meet them in battle and prove our worth before you." How had the enemy found them? How had they even known they would be here? However it had come to be, the Nightmother would bring the spiritual powers in an effort to level the field of battle.

Tag: Kyyrk | Redd | Gerwald Lechner | Asaraa Vaashe | The Monster | Naedira Darcrath